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campbell Lunch with Santa event aims to foster sense of community
Mayor’s childhood memories drive annual holiday event
By Bob Jackson
CAMPBELL
When Nick Phillips became mayor of Campbell four years ago, he wanted his administration to be marked by compassion and caring for the city’s residents.
That’s why every year since he was elected in 2015, Phillips and other city leaders have hosted Lunch with Santa for families in the city.
The latest installment was Sunday afternoon at the Palermo Banquet Center of St. Lucy Church on Tenney Avenue, where some 300 kids and their families showed up for a spaghetti dinner, gifts, and a visit from Santa Claus.
“I felt that this was something we needed to do to foster a sense of community and caring,” Phillips said of his reason for launching the effort during his first year in office. “You have to let the people know that you care about them. You have to reach out and connect.”
Phillips and his wife, Laura, said the event is aimed at Campbell residents, but it’s actually open to anyone who wants to attend.
“We don’t close the door to anyone here,” Nick said.
Nick said memories of his mom’s holiday hospitality are what drove him to create a special Christmas gathering for others in the city. His mom, Joyce Phillips, died in 2012, but spent her life instilling in her family the notion that Christmas is a time of giving, and she often opened their home to large numbers of family and friends during the holidays.
He found it ironic that the day he won election to office, on his first-ever foray into politics, was also his mom’s birthday.
The first year the holiday lunch was held, Phillips said he, his wife and other city leaders paid for it out of their own pockets because they were committed to making it happen. Since then, they’ve held a few annual fundraisers to help pay the costs, and they also get donations from the community.
“We don’t have a lot of money here, so we have to work hard and do most of this ourselves,” said Phillips, who spent hours in the kitchen Sunday morning helping prepare the dinner.
Volunteers and city officials also manned the food tables, serving up meals for the visitors.
“To see the faces of these kids, especially when Santa Claus arrives and gives them a gift, it’s just a special feeling,” he said.
Atty. Brian Macala, who’s been Campbell’s law director for the past 22 years, said he doesn’t recall anything like this ever being done before, and tipped his cap to Phillips for getting it started.
“It’s fantastic,” Macala said. “It’s a time and place where the whole community can come together and just enjoy being around each other for something good.”
And with a wink to St. Nick, who was brought in aboard a fire truck after the meal, Macala said, “We’re very fortunate that Santa can find time in his busy schedule to come see us in our little town.”
Debbie Goodman, a lifetime Campbell resident, said she has attended all four of the holiday gatherings with her 8-year-old twins, Reece and Liam.
“I like Santa, and I like being with family,” Liam said of what he likes most about Christmas.
Reece, who was considerably more shy than her brother, said she hopes to get a Polaroid camera under the Christmas tree this year.
Dawn Pesa, who works as a deputy clerk of courts for the city, attended with her 7-year-old son, Colton, who said when it was his turn to sit on Santa’s lap, he planned to ask for a Beyblade, which is a spinning top toy that’s similar to the Spinning Tops game that was popular in the 1960s.